John McM

Car was back on the road being tested and the 4WD light comes on. Rear diff lock actuator is seized. Luckily the mechanic could fix it. However, I'll look to fit new seals when they are produced.

John McM

Now finally out on the track and I get hydraulic alarm lights then the 4WD alarm. Back to the mechanic. Diagnosis is a failed accumulator (bomb) and pressure switch. With both replaced I go out for another track day and it's perfect.

John McM

Lessons learned:

1. Do work within your capability and with a view on risk/reward. Saving a couple of $$$ on a critical system is foolish.

2. A PPI will only pick up some of the common faults. Many of these faults were hidden. You get the level of PPI you pay for.

3. Road and Track use are world's apart re stress on cars. This car was gently driven on the road for many years and I believe poorly maintained. The minute it was under pressure things started to show up.

4. Some systems on these cars are aging and will need to be replaced . There's no reason to believe my oil lines are prematurely aged. Be aware.

5. Some vital parts on these cars are eye wateringly expensive and some are very hard to find e.g. try sourcing planetary gears. These are becoming common repairs not occasional ones and as we all try to go after a limited supply of parts the price goes up.

6. There is no cheap Porsche. Buy on condition not price and think twice about lightly used cars. I'd rather buy a regularly used track car than a garage queen if I intend to take it to the track.

John McM

Finally, was it all worth it? Absolutely. Inadvertently I've brought forward a lot of repairs and now have a car I can use for many years to come, with confidence. It's likely to bring up a few more surprises but the big work is done. This is what I planned to do for many years while stationed in far flung places. No more watching Discovery Turbo on Cable TV. I'm doing it now, not watching someone else.

bzliteyear

wow - changed wheels from before and also added decals...looks very sporty - congrats, even if it was initially a bit painful.
PL

HiWind

Thanks for the insight - valuable. Hope the best of your first few months is the worst of the rest of your time!

STUARTQ

I think you've experienced what could happen to all of us!

Big improvement with the wheels and duck tail by the, way?

Can you tell us more about the wheels.

TrackdayRSA.

Interesting story- the bright side is that, as you said, a bunch of major items have been dealt with and you can now enjoy with confidence. I too lad an oil line fail while on track a few weeks ago- upon further inspection all lines were replaced as the existing lines were chafing. This is a maintenance item that all of us who track our 964s need to be looking at regularly if you have not replaced the original lines!

Enjoy in good health

swesna

great work. car looks very nice.

John McM

Wheels are the new Fuchs, forged 17 inch 7 & 9. As others have noted, they're not exactly like the original pattern. However I love them and no need for spacers on a 964, albeit one owner has put 18mm spacers on the rears for aesthetics.

GermanCarSpecialists

Pretty painful journey, but happy ending. Looking at your signature, I see a 2006 Gof GTI. I purchased one to track a couple of years ago. It had 95k on it, and records showed perfect maintenance history, including timing belt service etc.

I still went through the basics and did all fluids, bushings, new suspension and started driving the car. 3rd day of the ownership on the way back from work, the oil pump seized on the highway. If you are a bit familiar with it, the oil pump and balance shaft is one assembly. The whole engine locked 80 miles an hour, timing belt broke, you get the picture. I lost the motor right there. It was beyond repairable therefore I opted to put a new motor. I enjoyed the car a couple of years and sold it.

So bad things happen to the best of us, it is life. I feel your pain.

You made a very good statement. You get the level of PPI you pay for.

Car looks gorgeous. Enjoy it at good health.

Dan V

You got a really sharp looking car! Everything works together so brilliantly. All's well that ends well -- glad to see!

jorijori

Hi John, I too just bought a car and am worried if this can happen to me too. For those in US / UK, you guys are lucky with so many cars available & good shops to choose for PPI.

For us here in far flung places, you have no choice when a car comes up for sale, chances are take it or leave it deal as many potential buyers are also waiting in line to buy that car.

John McM

NZ is nowhere near as limited in choice as Jakarta, but much of the 964 stock is ex Japan and Singapore, where they seemed to favour tiptronic. It appears they bought C4s if they wanted manual. Then you have many C4s in Cab or Targa form as well, further limiting the track choice e.g. there are 5 964s on the local auction site, 4 are tiptronic and the one manual is a Cab. Add a number of people looking and it is decision almost on the spot e.g. I lost out on a car by hours, even though I have an alert search. The other guy paid asking subject to PPI.

John McM

Looking through the bills, I forgot to mention it needed a new starter motor recondition as well.


To emphasise the positives rather than the negatives, I should mention that the body is completely straight and rust free. I hate tin worm so would always prefer a local or long ago imported C4 to a newly imported C2, say from the UK, which appears to have more issues with salt and lack of garaging.